CGC's Updated Restoration Grading Scale

An Action Comics #1 and a Detective Comics #27 are the first two books to be graded under CGC's new restoration scale. CGC agreed to launch these two books before the July 1 official start date.

As noted in an earlier article, CGC has expanded its restoration scale to help collectors understand what was done to their book. The following is a list of conservation and restoration repairs, materials used for these repairs, and the new CGC restoration scale:

Conservation Repairs

Tear seals

Spine split seals

Reinforcement

Piece reattachment

Some cover or interior cleaning (water or solvent)

Staples cleaned or replaced

Some leaf casting

Materials Used for Conservation Repairs:

Rice paper

Wheat glue

Vintage staples

Archival tape

Restoration Repairs

Color touch

Piece replacement

Re-glossing

Paper bleaching

Married pages or cover

Materials Used for Restoration Repairs:

White glue

Re-glossing agent

Acrylic or water color

Pencil, crayon, chalk

Pen, marker, white out, paint

Leaf casting

Cadaver piece fill

White bleaching

The New Restoration Scale

Quality (Aesthetic) Scale – (Determined by materials used and visual quality of work)

All conservation work, re-glossing, interior lightening, piece fill no more than size of two bindery chips, light color touch in small areas like spine stress, corner crease or bindery chip fill. Married cover or interior pages/wraps (if other work is present)

Featured below are the above mentioned books and the certification details. The summary of the graders notes lists every restoration technique used, the quantity and quality grade assigned for each, and its location on the book.

Action Comics #1

Detective Comics #27

In the near future, this information will be added to the CGC website.

Detective Comics #27 image courtesy of Dave & Adams

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